Olympic Aspirations surveys more than a century of efforts to put Olympic ideals into practice came to life in nations around the world. The project came to life in China at the world renowned annual Beijing Academic Forum just months after the city hosted the impressive 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Pertinently, one section of the Forum was devoted to the impact of the Olympic Movement on China and on China's image in the world. The tone of that section was too self-congratulatory at times for some present. The outcome after discussion that continued into late 2010 was Olympic Aspirations: Realized and Unrealised. It serves as a companion volume to the well -received Olympic Legacies: Intended and Unintended, drawing on expertise from academics in all parts of the world. Both volumes have a similar purpose: to record Olympic ideals achieved but more importantly, to stimulate reflection on those as yet unachieved. Both volumes are constructive in approach, positive in tone and optimistic in attitude. Olympic Aspirations contributes original and insightful arguments aimed at the making progress toward the improvement of the Olympic Movement.
In concert with Olympic Legacies, these volumes present two sides of the same coin minted to advance the purity of the Olympic 'coinage'. This book was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of the History of Sport.